In honor of Odell Beckham’s first practice in front of reporters, here are 13 observations from Day 1 of minicamp.
1. Let’s start with the star receiver. Beckham didn’t look like he missed a moment of OTA’s Tuesday despite all the consternation from reporters over his absence. He’s fast, can still stretch mid-air to snag footballs, his hands are like glue and his footwork is impeccable. Once he and Baker Mayfield get the timing and chemistry just right, the possibilities appear endless, and as explosive as we thought they’d be when the blockbuster trade was made.
2. While we can dream of the magic Mayfield will be able to create with Beckham and Jarvis Landry, it will have to remain a dream until training camp. Landry is being held out this week with an unspecified injury that sidelined him during OTA’s last month, but Landry said Tuesday that he will be ready to go for training camp and that it is not serious enough to require surgery.
3. Mayfield has emerged as the leader of the team without declaring that he is, and he’s embraced it. From the way he carries himself on the field with his teammates to how they respond to him, the high proficiency of his play along with how he handles himself off the field and represents the franchise in the community is nothing short of stellar. Leading up to the draft in 2018 all the talk was how he was not mature enough for such responsibility and boy has he proven that narrative to be a bunch of baloney since.
4. Freddie Kitchens would like us to get as excited with his defense as we have been about his offense, unfortunately that’s hard to do until the pads go on in late July/early August. Myles Garrett, Sheldon Richardson, Larry Ogunjobi and Olivier Vernon are relegated to hand fighting with the offensive line and virtual sacks for now. When camp and the preseason get here, watching those four should be a lot of fun.
5. The size at tight end is hard to miss – David Njoku (6-4, 246), Seth DeValve (6-3, 245). Pharoh Brown (6-6, 258), Demetrious Harris (6-7, 230), Stephen Carlson (6-4, 240) and Orson Charles (6-3, 257). They should be a lot of fun to watch in training camp and the preseason compete.
6. The kicking competition is going to be the Maalox moment of training camp this year. Greg Joseph and Austin Seibert got a chance at a hurry-up field goal as time expired during a situational drill Tuesday. Both kickers made them, but Joseph got a friendly clank off the left upright on his.
7. ‘The Scottish Hammer’ has a canon for a foot and it’s easy to see why the Browns added him to compete with veteran Britton Colquitt. Jamie Gillan’s showed off his leg as well as unique punting style in which he drops the football vertically on to his left foot. Gillan also kicks conventionally with the ball meeting his foot horizontally, but the booming hangtime and distance on his punts were hard to miss.
8. Anytime a quarterback not named Baker Mayfield throws a football, it feels like a cringeworthy experience. Overthrows, underthrows, miscommunications, interceptions. Take all 29 quarterbacks that preceded Mayfield and throw them into a blender and that encapsulates the horrifying experience of watching Drew Stanton, David Blough and Garrett Gilbert. The Eagles were still able to win a Super Bowl with backup Nick Foles. If anything happens to Mayfield, we may have 0-16 season nightmares in the offing.
9. We can take a deep breath – for now – about Austin Corbett and his bid for the right guard spot. Last year’s No. 33 overall pick was in there working with the first-team offensive line Tuesday. Until players put on pads in training camp, we’ll hold off any evaluations of his performance.
10. Duke Johnson made it clear Tuesday that he wants out, so it’s time for John Dorsey to do everyone a favor and get him out of here unless he’s willing to change his attitude. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that’s about to happen anytime soon based on his comments Tuesday. Johnson’s ego became damaged upon hearing that Dorsey had the audacity to explore trading him, and he said “no” when asked if fences could be mended going forward. Mayfield, Kitchens and others have made it clear they have no time for those that don’t want to be here, and Johnson doesn’t despite the Browns being poised to have their best season in three decades.
11. Jermaine Whitehead continues to run with the first-team defense, and it appears the safety has not only done enough to keep his reps but, even though it is early June, we may have to pencil him into the starting 11.
12. Greedy Williams got his hands on a couple of footballs during seven-on-seven and team drills – and even should’ve had an interception that he dropped. The second-round pick has had a good showing so far this spring.
13. The returner spots are up for grabs with Dontrell Hilliard and Antonio Callaway appearing to be the top two contestants. With Johnson disgruntled, if Hilliard can pick up the return game, the running back might just earn his way into the rotation out of the backfield this fall. D'Ernest Johnson and Damon Sheehy-Guiseppi are also getting looks.